New Star Wars Preview Explores the Worlds of Last Jedi

2 months ago

Lucasfilm has released a new featurette that showcases the real-life locations of the new worlds in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The Star Wars 8 clip premiered at Brazil Comic-Con and just so happens to fall on the day of the world premiere of The Last Jedi in Los Angeles and it gives Star Wars fans a breathtaking view into the exotic locations used to film the highly anticipated movie. We’re shown Ahch-To, which we have seen before, but we’re given brand new looks at Canto Bight and Crait, which show off locales that actually look like alien planets.

Out-of-the-way locations have always been used as set pieces for the Star Wars universe’s numerous planets, from Tunisia and Abu Dhabi’s deserts to California’s redwood forests and deserts to the Hardangerjøkulen Glacier in Finse, Norway. Director Rian Johnson says that when he came onboard the project that, “the first conversations you have are always about what makes something feel like Star Wars,” which in turn took him and the cast and crew to exotic locations all over the world. Being a scouting director for Lucasfilm must be one of the coolest jobs on Earth.

Canto Bight is shown first in the featurette and it was filmed on location in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which has become an in-demand location over the last decade or so. Rian Johnson says that it was like a dream to be able to film there while we see a speeder chase being filmed with an explosion outdoors, with Fathiers running around for good measure. Game of Thrones often films in Dubrovnik as well, but it looks nothing like the way that Johnson and crew have it set for The Last Jedi. It also looks like it would take an eagle-eyed person to even realize where the real-life location is, which is a testament to the work of the crew of The Last Jedi.

Next up, we’re taken to Crait, which is actually the salt flats of Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia. director Rian Johnson wondered what a battle would look like there and then we’re treated to most of the footage that we’ve already seen before with the beautiful red coloring juxtaposed with the white of the salt on the ground. Crait truly looks like an alien planet on its own without any help from the crew and even features an indigenous foxlike animal called a Culepo that may have been an influence on the Vulptex, aka, the crystal foxes featured in The Last Jedi.

Finally, we’re off to Ahch-To, which is actually the island of Skellig Michael off the coast of Ireland, which we saw briefly at the end of The Force Awakens. While we only saw a glimpse of the island in the last movie, we’re getting a much better look this time along with some of its inhabitants, including the world famous Porgs and the Caretakers. The featurette comes at the perfect time as The Last Jedi is only a few days from hitting theaters. Now you can go in and impress your friends with your geographical knowledge of the Star Wars universe. Check out the video below, courtesy of the Star Wars YouTube channel below.